The Richmond Gaol is a convict era building and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

in Richmond,

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, and is the oldest intact

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

in Australia. Building of the gaol commenced in 1825, and predates the establishment of the penal colony at Port Arthur in 1833. One of the tasks completed by the convicts who were held at Richmond Gaol was the construction of Richmond Bridge. Most of the gaol buildings have not been changed since convict times. They include an example of a

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

solitary confinement cell, measuring s by The buildings include a chain gang sleeping rooms, a

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

yard, a

cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cookh ...

and holding rooms. The buildings also feature historical relics and documents.

Beginnings

Settlers of Hobart Town were moving away in order to search for more

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

land. The area of Sorell was quite established and it was being extended into the area soon to be known as Richmond. In the meantime, convicts were used as virtual

slave labour Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

to create all kinds of infrastructure like roads, bridges and public buildings. Finally the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

of Richmond was proclaimed in 1824. A court house to service the police district in the area was built in 1825 and this was the start of the gaol building.

Expanding the gaol

By the 1830s the gaol was horribly overcrowded because of it being so small - 19 square metres - and prisoners were forced to sleep in the passageways. The two storey building began construction in 1832 and completed in 1833. The upper level served as the Gaoler's Residence with the downstairs section being storage. In 1835, the Eastern and Western wings were added and it's the Western Wing which serves as the entrance to the building to this very day. Once these were completed it created a better

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

between male and female prisoners. The female wing contained a new

and bake oven. In an attempt to negate the escapes and escape attempts from the gaol, it was surrounded with a stone wall. This was done in 1840.

Decline, closure and rescue

By the mid-1850s, the place was only being used as a Watch House due to the cessation of convict

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

. In 1861, it was controlled by the

municipal police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...

and when they were removed to become centralised in Hobart, the gaol simply became a group of holding cells. By the end of the 1920s, it was abandoned. In 1945, the gaol was rescued by becoming a State Reserve and through

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

in the 1970s, it was run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, meaning the gaol could be classified as an

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

under their control.

Solitary cells

The gaol had

solitary cell Single-celling is the practice of assigning only one inmate to each cell in a prison. John Howard has been credited as establishing the practice of single-celling in the United Kingdom and, by extension, in the United States The United Sta ...

s (or solitary confinement). The idea was you could be place in pitch darkness and complete silence for a period of 24 hours to thirty days. The time period depended upon what you were charged with.

Flagellation Yard

Hangings never took place at Richmond Gaol but

flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

s (whippings) did. You would be strapped to a wooden pyramid shaped thing and the lashes meted out accordingly. In some colonies it seems a kidney belt would be used to minimise harm to the

kidneys The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; bloo ...

but from the

illustrations An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video ...

of flagellations taking place in the yard, this seemed to be absent. Even though some people in Hobart Town would be sentenced to 500 lashes, in Richmond the number was a little more sympathetic. It would start at 25 with the number occasionally hitting 75 or 100. As painful as it sounds, salt would be rubbed into the flesh wounds created by the cat-o-nine tails but this was actually done to minimise

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dis ...

. The lashings at Richmond Gaol (or any other gaol which undertook whippings - i.e.:

Adelaide Gaol Adelaide Gaol is a former Australian prison located in the Park Lands of Adelaide, in the state of South Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988. The Gaol is one of the two oldest bui ...

Melbourne Gaol The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildin ...

) would have a

medical officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

standing by to check whether the persons' life would be in danger. Should the person be deemed unfit to continue they would be taken down. However, once they were fit enough again, they would be strapped back up to have the remainder of their sentence handed out.

Ghosts

Like most old sites like this, it has its fair share of ghost stories. The third cell in the Men's Block is apparently quite well known for the terrible effect it can have on people in there. People claim to hear moaning and deep sighs and some people claim they get a cold shiver as they approach.Ghost Stories of Richmond, Tasmania by Granny Jones, Regal Publications, Tasmania.

References

The Richmond Gaol... 1825 - Revised Second Edition by Walter B. Pridmore, 2007.

External links

Discover Tasmania's Richmond Gaol information

Richmond Village Convict Trail

{{Convicts in Australia History of Tasmania Defunct prisons in Tasmania Convictism in Tasmania 1825 establishments in Australia Museums in Tasmania Prison museums in Australia Tasmanian Heritage Register